Under The Island is the best game I have played this year so far. That is not something I say lightly. It captures the magic of classic 2D Zelda adventures, especially The Minish Cap, while adding its own quirky humor and heartfelt storytelling. The tools are inventive. The puzzles are clever. The world is full of secrets that reward curiosity. It is rare for a game to maintain that sense of joy from start to finish. There is something special here.
Reanimal feels like Tarsier perfecting a style they clearly understand inside and out. It delivers unforgettable creature designs, haunting environments, solid puzzles, and a tone that lingers long after you put the controller down. Yes, it is short. Yes, the price makes it a slightly harder sell. But it is also a fantastic game that horror fans, especially those who loved Tarsier’s previous work, should not miss. Reanimal may not give you all the answers, but it will give you moments you will not forget anytime soon.
Romeo Is A Dead Man is a violent, surreal, unapologetically weird action game that feels like Suda51 completely unfiltered. You might not fully understand it. You might get annoyed by performance issues. You might question why half of these systems exist at all. But you will not forget it. And sometimes, that is more than enough.
By the time the credits rolled, I was left feeling disappointed more than anything else. There is a good game buried in here. With tighter economy balancing, more meaningful survival systems, and enemies that are dangerous without being bullet sponges, I Hate This Place could have been an easy recommendation. Instead, it feels like a promising idea that loses confidence in itself halfway through.
After about 18 hours, From The Ashes left me with a clear impression. This is a better version of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. It improves the story, gives you a protagonist worth caring about, removes most of the unnecessary padding, and fully benefits from a third-person camera that changes everything. It also fits a familiar Ubisoft pattern, launching rough and then quietly becoming much better over time, often at a lower price.
Ready or Not is a brutally authentic tense, methodical, and unforgettable tactical shooter that turns every doorway into a threat and every decision into a life-or-death gamble. Is not for everyone. If you want fast action, power fantasy, and constant stimulation, this is not it. But if you love tactical shooters, if you enjoy being scared by uncertainty rather than cheap tricks, and if you appreciate games that trust the player to slow down and think, this is something truly special.
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is not a bad game. It is an enjoyable, lightweight stealth adventure with good vibes, fun levels, and a clear respect for what makes the Thief fantasy appealing. It is also not essential. It is the definition of a solid seven out of ten experience. Something you play, appreciate for what it is, shrug at the rough parts, and move on.
I genuinely respect what A.I.L.A. goes for. The variety of scenarios is impressive, the atmosphere is consistently strong and the story unfolds in a way that keeps you invested. The sticking point is the combat. If the developers manage to refine the shooting, tweak the healing flow, and rebalance enemy movement so encounters feel fair instead of chaotic, A.I.L.A. could become something genuinely special.
Wanderer does not just send you to different time periods. It lets you play with them. Twist them. Rethink them. And that is what makes it special. If you can accept a few technical bumps, this is absolutely essential. It is bold, memorable and full of moments that stay with you long after you take off the headset.
If you're a diehard RTS fan or a longtime Homeworld player who's been curious about how it might feel to command your fleet in VR, this is absolutely worth checking out. If you're new like me, prepare for a learning curve, but also for a payoff that feels special once you get the hang of it. It's not perfect, but it's ambitious, atmospheric, and unlike almost anything else on the Quest.
The highs are so high that the middling parts stand out even more. But those highs are so worth experiencing. Marvel's Deadpool VR is messy, loud, self aware, chaotic, and very fun. Just like Deadpool himself. And for me, that is still worth a recommendation.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a strange, mixed experience. The campaign is a complete mess. Not the fun kind of messy, but the kind that makes you ask how many meetings were skipped or how many analytics dashboards were misunderstood. But the rest of the package is not like that. Multiplayer movement and gunfeel continue to be top tier. The wall jump adds a fresh twist. The reward shower keeps you locked in. Zombies is pure comfort food and Dead Ops 4 is chaotic joy.
Treat The Berlin Apartment like a quiet evening experience. Make a hot cup of coffee or tea or chocolate, dim the lights, settle in and let the stories breathe. The Berlin Apartment does not try to entertain you with gameplay, it tries to move you with perspective. And if you give it the patience it asks for, it succeeds.
Battlefield 6 is the comeback fans have been waiting for. It's big, loud, and confident about what it is. The campaign is flawed but enjoyable, the gunplay is excellent, and the multiplayer captures that old Battlefield soul again. There are balance issues, the story fizzles at the end, and some modes need tuning, but none of that matters once you're knee-deep in a firefight with debris flying around you.This is the Battlefield I've been missing. Chaotic, cinematic, and endlessly entertaining. I absolutely love it, and if you've ever been a Battlefield fan, you'll probably feel the same. We're so back.
If you enjoy games with the vibe of Dredge or gameplay like Papers, Please, or you just love eerie stories that get under your skin, you owe it to yourself to try Static Dread: The Lighthouse. It's haunting, oddly cozy, and one of the most memorable indie horror experiences I've played this year.
The only real thing holding it back from greatness is its difficulty. Those sudden spikes break the pacing and make it hard to fully enjoy what the game is doing so well elsewhere. There were multiple moments where I thought, “Okay, this is it, I'm done,” only to boot it back up an hour later because I couldn't shake it. That's the magic of Silly Polly Beast — it frustrates you, but it also pulls you back in.
If you've got a Meta Quest 3, Arken Age is one of those games you simply have to experience. It's the kind you hand to a friend to show them why VR is worth caring about — and the kind that stays in your head long after you've finished. This isn't just good VR. This is VR at its absolute best.
Cronos: The New Dawn is not just another horror game. It's a masterclass in atmosphere, tension, and worldbuilding. It feels handcrafted, every corridor and sound meticulously designed to make you uneasy yet curious. The gunplay is weighty, the exploration satisfying, and the story deeply intriguing. It's a game that respects the intelligence and patience of the player, rewarding those who take the time to absorb its details.
NDreams has delivered something truly special here. Even with its technical hiccups, Reach stands tall as a must-play for any Quest 3 owner. Few VR games capture the sense of freedom, discovery, and physicality quite like this one. If you own a Quest 3, Reach isn't just worth playing, it's essential. It's a breathtaking leap forward for what VR can feel like, and once you experience it, every other movement system will feel a little less satisfying.
Yooka-Replaylee is the kind of game that knows exactly what it is, a 3D platformer packed to the brim with collectibles, quirky characters, and colorful worlds. It doesn't try to reinvent the genre or push the platforming forward in any major way, and that's both its comfort and its curse.